A lathe can be used for manufacturing mostly rotationally symmetric workpieces by the turning or also by cutting and/or milling. With a lathe and appropriate tools attached thereto, workpieces in the form of different bodies of rotation can be produced. For example, using a lathe and an appropriately selected processing tool, plastic seals can be produced from semi-finished products, in particular from thick-walled plastic tubes. Here the seals, for example, can be cut out or cut off or turned out from the plastic tubes. For turning a product or a plurality of products a variety of processing tools, for example, for cutting, milling, or tapping can be required depending on the desired end product, and each of these processing tools must be moved into a proper position for processing the rotating semi-finished product. A cutting tool, for example, can be pressed against the semi-finished product and can carry out a cutting operation as the semi-finished product rotates. During the rotation of the semi-finished product the cutting tool (or any other tool) can be shifted relative to the semi-finished product in order to achieve a desired profiling or processing.
When using a CNC lathe it can be necessary to exchange one of a plurality of turning tools for another in order to realize desired turning contours. In order to achieve a high processing throughput this tool exchange should occur as quickly as possible. In conventional CNC systems a tool revolver may be used for the exchange operation, and the turning tools are fixed on a disc on the tool revolver. In order to select a desired tool for processing, the disc is rotated about an axis, using a motor, for example, until the desired selected cutting tool is in an appropriate work position. A so-called linear slide has also bee used in the prior art as a further possibility for a rapid turning tool exchange, wherein the turning tools are fixedly disposed with respect to one another. To use a selected tool it is moved toward the tool with the help of the coordinate table of the lathe. A disadvantage of this linear slide is that it is only suited for small turning diameters, because in order to prevent collisions the turning diameter must be allowed for as distance from one tool to the other as safety spacing for collisions.
Both in systems using a tool revolver and systems using a linear slide the free area for processing is limited by the geometry of the tools or by their arrangement. Thus in conventional systems only a certain number, i.e., limited number, of tools can be used and there is nonetheless always a risk of collision.